Life's Little Surprises
by FrostRiven
Summary: A silly accounting of Heero's birthday party. (Also hosted on 0system.com)
1. Lightning Baron vs dog

            "What do you have?"

            The blonde turned and glanced across the room, his lips barely touched by a mischievous smile.  He didn't move from his place on the floor and turned away from her, shielding whatever he was holding in front of him from any further inspection with his light gray trench coat.  

            Noin cocked her head and swiped at her dark hair, her curiosity growing.  She started across the room.  "Zechs, really..."

            Just then the bundle he'd been trying to conceal from her fell out of his grip with boneless grace, still chewing on his lapels.  It turned in what would be considered physically improbable for any other creature, eyed Noin, and let go of Zechs's coat in order to charge toward her, tail wagging ferociously.

            Noin stooped and scooped it up, smiling a bit at its enthusiastic affections.  "Zechs," she looked at him closely as he stood up and came closer, "when did you get a puppy?"

            He reached out and scratched it- no, _her_, Noin noticed- behind the ears and was rewarded by more vigorous tail wagging.  "I'm just the baby-sitter for the afternoon.  Lady Une will bring Mariemaia back later on this afternoon."  

            The roly-poly little husky puppy wriggled out of Noin's arms and came close to plunging headlong into the floor; then, unshaken by her near free-fall, she flopped down on Zechs's favorite pair of shoes and began gnawing.  

            Eyeing the dog carefully, he continued, "Relena said she'd take care of him but she got called away by some delegation.  We were visiting anyway, so I said that we could handle it.  And besides," he added as he saved his shoes and lifted the gray and white fur ball up for inspection, "she has my eyes."  Two pairs of ice-blue eyes regarded her for a moment, before one pair and its accompanying mouth turned and applied itself happily to thick strands of near-white mane.  

            "Does she have a name?"  She sat down on the couch with a smirk.  She had a growing feeling that this afternoon was going to be _quite _interesting, and made no effort to try to help disentangle fur and teeth from Zechs's beloved mass of hair.  

            He growled softly and his face contorted.  "Rosalinda..." sharp, hissing intake of breath, "...or Rosie."  Noin heard a few soft growls- whether from Zechs or from the dog she didn't know- and watched the blonde pilot almost magically produce the husky out from under sheets of hair and dump her unceremoniously on the floor __

            _Lightning Baron versus energetic puppy_, Noin mused, still smirking.  Rosie began playing tug-of-war with Zechs's pant leg. _ I have a lot of faith in you, Zechs, but I think you're out-classed and out-maneuvered this time_.  She watched them both run into the next room, then sighed and stood up.  _Well, it's just one afternoon.  How much trouble can happen in one afternoon?_

            She finally located them in the kitchen, where Rosie was chasing her silver engraved bowl around the slick linoleum trying to eat and Zechs was perched on the countertop.  She tilted her head and smiled.  "She's too much for you."

            "Nonsense."  He frowned first at Noin, then at Rosie, who was now leaping enthusiastically for the feet that dangled temptingly from the countertop above her.  "I capably handled Treize, and survived multiple run-ins with Heero Yuy just fine, and I don't think this little ball of fluff even comes close to that level of destructiveness and focus... OW!  Don't you have some toys of your own to play with and chew on?"

            Rosie yawned, shook herself, and wandered out of the kitchen.

            "See?"  Zechs raised brows at Noin who merely shrugged at him.  She was so far succeeding in not laughing at him- albeit barely.   "Just have to talk to them, that's all."

            Noin glanced into the next room and came close to losing that small margin of control.  "Well, um, Zechs," she cleared her throat and stood poised with one hand covering her widening grin, "you, uh, might want to capably handle finding some paper towels and carpet cleaner, and go and capably clean the mess out of the Lady's beloved navy shag carpeting."

            Platinum blonde brows snapped down, and he grabbed a roll of paper towels and a spray bottle and headed into the next room, shooting Noin a tight-lipped look as he pushed past her.

            "I'll get the leash and take her out for a walk," she volunteered, and stepped out into the foray.  Rosie scampered around her feet, wriggling with excitement and sliding clumsily on the linoleum.  She clipped the leash on, and smiled softly at the bowed head with its streamers of silken hair dripping toward the carpet in the next room.   "You can catch up with us when you're done."

            She stepped out into the bright sunshine, and began walking, noting the comfortable expressions on the people's faces.  _It's refreshing to be on Earth again, and to see the happy and contented expressions on people's faces.  She stopped and stretched out, then began to jog.  Rosie followed in a perfect heel along side Noin, her vaccination and ID tags jingling to their rhythm.  There was something about this that pleased Noin greatly; she smiled at people she didn't know and kept her breathing steady to the percussion of her footfalls and the jangling time of free-swinging dog tags._

            Sometime later, she noticed that the tags weren't quite keeping the time that they were earlier and glanced down.  Rosie had fallen a bit behind, but was doggedly determined to keep up.  "'S'ok," Noin said and slowed down to a walk again, "there's a park just a little further if I remember correctly."  She paused and looked down at the adoring furry face.  "And you have no idea what I am saying, so why am I talking to you?"

            Noin's memory had served her correctly, and they got to the park within a few minutes.  The only water was available from fountains, so she held the puppy up to the spigot and depressed the button with her hip.  Rosie snorted water out of her nose and shook her head, then tentatively began lapping some up.  She set her down and leaned over to take a drink herself, when a voice declared happily near her ear: --

            "Well, if it ain't our good friend, the ex-Lieutenant Noin!"

            Noin jerked back with a startled expression just in time to see a glimpse of black, braid, and dancing eyes bellow, "QUATRE!  COME AND SEE WHAT I FOUND!"  She winced.  

            "It's nice to see you again, too, Duo."  She leaned back against the fountain.  "I don't recall you shouting in my ears any of the last times we met, so I'm assuming you are glad to see me.  What are you doing on Earth?"

            It's always nice to run into familiar faces."  He grinned broadly.  "And I'm just here on a sort of vacation.  Hilde's taking care of the salvaging, so I thought I took some free time to visit Quatre, and since he was coming to Earth... voila!  Here be Duo!"  He gestured grandly, then turned, flailing Noin with the thick length of chestnut braid.  "QUAT... oh, hi," he finished lamely as the Arabian pilot jogged up.

            "Miss Noin!  How are things going on the moon?"  He hugged her quickly and smiled, then cocked his head quizzically and stooped to pet Rosie, who basked in the attention.

            "Things are going well, but we wanted to discuss a few ideas with the head committee and thought we could argue our case better in person.  I was also looking forward to seeing Relena again- and Zechs was too."  She smiled down at the younger blonde and the excited puppy.  "And the dog isn't mine.  She's Mariemaia's and her name is Rosie, and Zechs thought it'd be a good idea for us to watch her this afternoon while Lady Une took Mariemaia out for some appointments and shopping.  Speaking of Zechs…" she shaded her eyes and glanced around.

            "So it's Zechs now?"  Duo beamed at Rosie and picked her up out of Quatre's arms, but she wiggled out and returned to the blonde.  "Not Preventor Wind or Millardo, but Zechs?  He's finally settled out of his identity crisis?"

            A hand fell onto his shoulder.  "You know, Maxwell," a deep voice said near his ear, "Heero's right.  You talk to much for your own good."

            Duo nearly leaped out of his skin.  "Ack!  Zechs... uh, hey, how's it goin'?"

            Zechs's lips thinned and his increased his grip on Duo's shoulder a moment before letting go.

            Quatre shook his head.  "Seems like you two are both doing well, Miss Noin.  How long are you going to be staying on Earth?"

            "We talk to the committee tomorrow morning, so we should be back in space by mid-afternoon."

            "Oh," he sighed, "I wish we could have more time to talk.  Sometimes it get so boring and stifling handling papers all the time and sitting in board meetings..."

            "And obtaining some free time is a lot harder than obtaining peace," Duo cut in with a rueful laugh.

            Noin smiled back politely.  "So where's Heero these days?  Have either of you seen him?  And is Trowa still with the circus?"

            "I see Trowa more frequently than Heero..."  Quatre eyed the way Rosie wound in circles around Duo's legs, but refrained from commenting.  "...since the circus occasionally stops in my colony, and he visits now and again with Catherine when they aren't touring.  I've only seen Heero once, and he was with Miss Relena."

            "I haven't seen him at all."  Duo sighed.  "Ya know, all the times I helped him out and I never even got a thank you and he never stops to say hi to his old pal.  I guess that's Heero for you."

            "If he's with Relena..."  Noin paused thoughtfully.  "Well, at least she's in good hands."

            "Yep, you betcha she is."  Duo grinned again and winked.  "And it's getting pretty late.  Quatre, does this conversation remind you of something?"

            "Oh, yeah!"  He nodded.  "I'm sorry we couldn't talk longer, and I'm sorry you aren't staying longer, or you'd probably get to see Heero."

            "Why's that?"  Zechs glanced up, eyes gleaming with curiosity.

            "We decided to throw a birthday party for Heero!"  Duo started to bounce in excitement, then suddenly tripped over the leash wrapped around his ankles.  

            "Heero _has a birthday?"  Noin reached to help untangle Duo._

            "He does now, because we made one up for him, and Trowa too."  Quatre shrugged almost guiltily.  "We wanted some kind excuse for a reunion now and again."

            "And a party."  Duo sprang to his feet again. "But I dunno how good of a party it could possibly be with Heero and Trowa there.  One won't talk and the other will be giving us death-glares.  I don't know whether Wufei being too busy was a good thing or a bad thing.  It's a party for the Unstoppable Force; we really don't need the Immovable Object too, even if it'd be nice to have a complete reunion type thingy."

            "You guys can come if you're still here," Quatre said.  "I know Miss Relena was very disappointed that she got called away today because she wanted to spend some time with you..."

            "Quatre..."   Duo pulled out the name like warm taffy and bounced.

            "...and this way she could see you for a little while at least.  We'll be in this park tomorrow at one in the afternoon."

            "Quatre...."

            "I do hope you can make it."

            "Quatre..."

            "We'll see if we can."  Zechs nodded and wrapped an arm around Noin's waist and escorted her off.  

            She glanced up with a startled expression, but let herself be escorted.  What...?" 

            "If I didn't get away from that inane braided wonder," he growled softly, grinding his teeth, "I was going to have to hurt him."

            Quatre turned to Duo with a smile.  "They really are so nice together.  I wonder if they're..."

            "I don't care!"  Duo grabbed the blonde's arm and dragged him back onto the sideway.  "We gotta find a present for Heero before tomorrow, and it's gotta be something good!"

            Quatre shuddered to think of what Duo's idea of a "good" present for Heero might be.  

            They passed a few shops and Duo walked with his head permanently tilted upward to read the signs aloud for Quatre's approval whether or not to go in to look.

            "Aunt Betty's Antiques."

            "No."

            "The Perfect Cut Hair Care-- hey, I could use some..."

            "No."

            Duo pouted and pulled fitfully on his braid.

            "The Complete Gun Shop."

            "NO!"  

            "Sweet Delights Candy and Bakery.  Hmm... do we have a cake?"

            "Trowa said he'd take care of it."

            "Bunkle, Bunkle and Smith."

            "No."

            Duo stopped with a smirk in front of a large sandwich board outside of the next shop.  He glanced inside, then back at Quatre.  "Q, my dear compatriot, I think I have an idea.  I have been... inspired."

            "Do you really think that's a good idea?"  He tilted his head.  "I never thought that Heero would- er, could- ah..."

            Duo draped an arm around his shoulder.  "Think of it as a good gag gift."  He pulled Quatre into the store.

            Zechs sat down in an overstuffed chair and Rosie tried to climb his legs.  He reached down and pulled her up into his lap.  "Well...?"  He looked at Noin expectantly.

            "Well, what?"  She stretched out on the couch with her book.  "Are you asking me what I think of tomorrow?"

            "Yes."  He hand fell in a soothing rhythm on the dog's fur.  "I want to see my sister, and it sounds strange, but I want to see Heero as well.  Do you think we can work this into our schedule?"

            "We might get there late, but other than that I don't see a problem.  We can always reschedule our shuttle."

            He nodded, and Noin didn't pursue the subject but turned to her book and began reading.  

            She was brought out of her reverie sometime later by the sound of the front door opening and Lady Une and Mariemaia's voices.  She marked her place and glanced at Zechs, then smiled broadly.  She walked out into the front room and gestured.

            "How did things go?  I hope she wasn't any trouble for you."  Une set her bags down and looked at Noin curiously. 

            "Where's my Rosie?"  Mariemaia looked up with wide blue eyes. 

            "She was no trouble at all, don't worry.  I hope you two had a good day."  Noin nodded toward the sitting room.  "Come here.  I wish I had a camera."

            Une and Mariemaia peered into the next room, and Une stifled a laugh with the back of her hand.

            Zechs slept sitting up in the chair, his one hand holding his head up with elbow on chair arm and the other resting on the small bundle of fur asleep in his lap.


	2. The Next Day

The next day-

            Duo giggled wickedly, his eyes gleaming, as he set the gaily-wrapped box next to the red gingham tablecloth Quatre spread on the lush grass.  "Where are they, where are they, where are they?" He bounced back onto his heels and glanced around.

            Quatre pulled out plastic-wrapped plates and bowls of food out of a seemingly bottomless wicker basket.  "We're not even ready yet, Duo.  Here, help me organize some of this."

            "What if he doesn't show up?  And where's Trowa?"  He pulled the wrapping off of a bowl of pasta salad and sampled it.  "This is pretty good."

            "Thanks, but don't eat it all, ok." Quatre set the basket aside and began setting out plates.  "And Trowa is over there."

            "Eh?"  Duo's head swung around to look and Quatre ducked the following braid casually. "Can't sneak up on us with Q-man here," he grinned.  "So how's things goin'?"

            "Hello, Duo," the quiet pilot said mildly, as he set a large box down.  "Hey, Quatre."

            "What's this?"  Quatre lifted the lid of the box and peeked in.  "Oh, keep Duo away from this.  How's Relena coming?"

            "What is it?"  Duo reached for the box with over-eager fingers.  

            "The cake."  Trowa moved it out of range.  "She'll be here in a few minutes.  She's having problems figuring out how to blind-fold him."  He moved the cake back further.  

            Duo paused in mid-reach.  "Blind-fold?"  He began snickering.

            Trowa shrugged and moved the cake-box to his other side.

            A familiar girl's voice floated across the green grass.  "Come on, don't you trust me?"

            The braided pilot snickered harder, an action that almost resulted in him falling into Trowa's lap, which he was in the middle of reaching across.  "I can just imagine…" he giggled, then doubled up.  He wiped tears from his eyes and howled with laughter.  "…the withering look he just gave her!"  

            Trowa moved the box further out of reach, and nudged Duo out of his space and onto the grass to finish out the throes of mirth.  

            Duo opened his eyes to see Heero standing over him with a half-quizzical, half-exasperated expression.  He squeezed his eyes shut again and convulsed in helpless laughter.

            "That looks painful."  Relena shook her head and prodded at him with a toe.

            Quatre nodded.  "Doesn't it?  He must be used to it or something, because he never seems to mind it."

            "Happy… birthday," Duo managed to gasp out.  "H- happy birthday, Heero."

            Heero looked around him.  

            "Yes, happy birthday!"  Relena hugged his shoulders affectionately.  "Come on, sit down."

            "Happy birthday," Quatre added. 

            "Birthday?"  He was still looking around. 

            "It was Quatre's idea," Trowa clarified.   

            "Oh."  Heero sat down.  "I understand now."

            "So, what do you want first?"  Relena sat next to him.  "Food, cake, or presents?"

            Heero reacted by getting up onto his knees, pulling out his gun, and aiming in a single fluid motion.

            "No!"  Relena and Quatre both tackled him and attempted to wrest the firearm from him.

            Zechs looked coolly amused.  "I see that I have not been forgotten.  Hello again, Heero Yuy."  

            Heero gripped his gun tightly and growled.   

            Noin looked at him curiously.  "Thought you'd stopped hurting people.  Why do you still carry that thing around with you?"

            He disentangled himself from his attackers and tucked the gun back into its accustomed place in his waistband against the small of his back.  "You never know when it could come in handy.  I find it quite useful in everyday living."  He shrugged and sat back down.  "It's part of me."  

            "Kind of like that Spandex," Duo cracked from his place in the grass.

            Trowa nudged him again, not too gently.

            "So you're not going to try to find out if Noin'll take a bullet for me?" Zechs asked, still with a calm smile on his face. Noin gave him a strange look.

            "Not worth the bullet.  That was just a brief resurfacing of old instinct."  He looked at the paper plate and plastic fork Quatre somehow managed to put into his hands, then reached for a bit of cold chicken.  

            "Ah, yes, the 'Zechs must die' instinct.  I believe I understand."  He sat down and picked at a slice of watermelon.  

            Duo sat up.  "I wanna cut the cake."

            "I'm not sure that's a good idea."  Relena paused in the middle of trying to put food on Heero's plate to lick some mayonnaise from her finger and stare worriedly at the braided pilot.  

            He pulled a face.  "I _wanna cut the cake."_

            Zechs glanced up and spit melon seeds at him.  

            "Plu-leeeeeze?"  He turned wide cobalt puppy-dog eyes on Quatre.

            "Well…"

            "Don't cave into him, Quatre," Noin warned around a mouthful of cinnamon bun.  "He's just using you for your gentle nature.  Do you _really trust _him_ with a __knife?"_

            "Hey!" Duo cried.  "You make it sound as though he shouldn't trust me at all.  I'm trustworthy."

            A watermelon rind hit him in the forehead.  Zechs grinned innocently, and Relena began giggling.

            "EWWWW!"  Duo threw himself back on the grass ands rolled back and forth, clutching at his head.  "Zechs Marquise germs!  Ahhhh!  Your saliva-covered rind _touched me!" he shrieked in outrage._

            "I can't believe he really acts like this."  Noin shook her head.  "How did he survive all these years?"

            "The great mystery of Duo: why hasn't someone already killed him."  Heero shrugged.  "Even I don't fully understand it."  He looked with interest at the cake.  "And that had better be chocolate."

            Duo paused in his mock-hysterics and grabbed a knife.  "Let's find out!" he cried as he shouldered Trowa out of his way.  "The God of Death is back, baby!"  He plunged the knife into the Wing Zero shaped cake and cackled wildly.  

            "Oh, dear," Quatre said in astonishment.

            "Duo!"  Relena grabbed the arm on the upswing.  "Tradition!  He has to blow out the candles!"

            The knife dropped out of Duo's hand willingly and the other dove into his pants pocket.  "Yeah, better yet!  Light it up!"

            "Alright."  Relena reached for the small color-and-white striped candles with a sigh of relief, artfully arranged them, and snagged the lighter away from Duo.  "Thank you."  

            "You have to make a wish," Quatre reminded him.  

            "Hn."  Heero stared intently at the candles for a moment, then blew out the tremulous flames to the other's applause.

            Zechs sighed and stared morosely at the slice of cake Trowa handed him.  "You know, the only person who help celebrate my birthday after Cinq fell is dead."  He sighed again.  "And he always gave the most tasteful gifts."

            "Gifts!"  Duo grinned and licked his fingers.  "Speaking of which..."  He shoved the wrapped box in front of Heero.  

            Zechs gave the braided pilot a dirty look, but added his own gift on top of the other.  


	3. Finale

Heero looked at the two gifts- mostly eyeing the top one- then made an attempt to stare Zechs down.  

After a few moments of neither of them moving, Duo interrupted.  "Um… Heero?  Could'ja just open them?  My eyes are beginning to tear up in sympathy for you guys."

Something flicked in Heero's eyes.  "Mission accepted."

The rest of the party sweatdropped.

He picked up Zech's gift, still glancing warily at the blonde pilot, and unwrapped it.  He studied the object in his hands and frowned, and Relena and Duo leaned over his shoulders to see what it was.  After a moment, he glanced up at Zechs again and held up what the bright paper had revealed.  

It was a hardcover book with what looked like a green smiley-face with no eyes and a wildly maniacal grin waving it's arms in a rude gesture, and a hand with the thumb stuck up in the universal hitchhiker's sign on the cover, along with the title, _The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_ and the name Douglas Adams.  

"What," he began, "is _this_?"  

Zechs and Noin both began snickering.

"That is an excellent book," the older blonde pilot answered with a grin.  "Everyone should have a copy.  It explains what you should do if the Earth is going to be destroyed, God's final message to His Creation, and reveals the whereabouts of Elvis."

Relena, Duo, Quatre, and Trowa glanced at Zechs, glanced at each other, and shrugged.

One thick, dark eyebrow rose.  "Hn."  Heero reached for the bigger, brighter, infinitely tempting gift that Duo had shoved before him, but before he could reach it, a weighty package was put into his hands.

Everyone turned to look at the honey-blonde who stood smiling over Heero, absently flicking one curled section of hair over the shoulder of her black-and-tan Preventors jacket.  

Noin grinned.  "Hey Sally.  How's life, and have you strangled the little jerk yet?"  She made throttling motions with a cheerful expression.

Sally shook her head.  "Not yet.  He's off being anti-social on account of losing a bet with me, but he did send his regards and that."  She gestured toward the package in Heero's hands.

"Wu-man hasn't forgotten about his good friends!" Duo cheered.

"Good friends?" Trowa asked.  "I hadn't known that he'd had any."

Duo shrugged.  "You know what I mean."

"It feels like more books."  Heero glowered accusingly at Sally, simply because Wufei wasn't there to be blamed.  He pulled the plain brown, battered mailing paper off the box, then opened the box, and a plethora of items fell out.

Three of the items were indeed books.  One of them was an old, worn copy of Confucian's _Analects_, another on the philosophy of Plato, and the third was _The Encyclopedia of Chinese Astrology_.   Among the other items there was a set of break-apart chopsticks, a small jade dragon, and a largish plastic sword.  

Everyone stared.  Noin was the first to recover.

The dark haired female pilot began snickering.

"Miss Noin?" Quatre asked, his gentle face clouded over with concern.  "What is it?"

Noin doubled over laughing wildly and gasping for air.  

"Noin?" Zechs looked over at her, his golden brows furrowed.  "Noin?  Are you alright?"

" 'Mankind censure injustice fearing that they may be the victims of it, and not because they shrink from committing it,' " Heero read aloud from one of the books.  He snorted and snapped it shut.

Noin fell over in the grass clutching her mid-section and a keening noise issued from her mouth.  

"Is she laughing or in pain?" Trowa stared in puzzlement.

"Laughing," the voice of experience- Duo- spoke up.

"Noin!"  Zechs poked and prodded his companion for a moment.  "Get yourself under control.  You have been trained better than this!"

"Ow, ow, ow," she panted between giggles, "ow, ow, ow… Wufei!"  She rolled over in new set of convulsions.

"Yes, I know," Relena patted Noin gently.  "It's ok, Miss Noin, we understand."

"Suuuuurrre we do," Duo muttered to Trowa, making twirling motions by his head with his index finger.  Trowa more or less ignored him except for giving him a dirty look.

"I helped pick out the sword," Sally added in helpfully, watching Noin gasp for breath.  Quatre stared at her oddly for a moment, then shook his head.  

Heero picked up the jade dragon with the chopsticks and examined it, not even seemingly noticing the commotion going on around him, not even when Duo started shoving on him and repeating, "Open my present!  Open my present!  Open my…oof!", until he lost his grip on the dragon as he was jostled, then he scowled at Duo and pushed him away.

Sally flopped into the grass next to a recovering Noin and a still puzzled Zechs, then helped the dark-haired woman into a sitting position and handed her some soda.

Heero picked up the last gift.

Duo's bright, devilish grin lit up most of the continent and could be seen from space.

Heero shook the box, frowning a bit at the dull thumping and… squeaking? noises emanating from within, then began ripping off layers of ribbon, tape, and paper.  He tore open the duct-taped shut lid and peered inside.   He frowned again.

The braided pilot couldn't contain himself anymore and covered his mouth as he began to giggle.  Even Quatre was beginning to grin now.

"Well, what is it?" Zechs asked.

Still frowning, the Japanese boy reached into the box and lifted out a Wing Zero plushie.  It was about a foot tall and covered in a huggably soft, nappy terrycloth, and it was also fairly detailed, as far as plushies go.

"Awww," giggled Noin, lapsing back into laughter.  "I guess they figured that you missed your real gundam."

"What was that squeaking noise then?" Heero demanded, first looking back into the box to see if anything was left in there, and then returning his dark blue eyes to the stuffed gundam.

"You have ta… He-he!" Duo rolled around on the grass.

"Squeeze it," Quatre finished, grinning ear to ear.

A dark brow rose, but Heero gave it a good squeeze, then nearly dropped it.  The squeak it made sounded remarkably like the little Wing Zero was saying, "Epyon!" in a very cute manner.

Zechs blinked then grabbed for the plushie.  "Did that just say what I thought it said?" he inquired.

The plushie was re-squeezed.  "Epyon!"  

The longhaired blonde chuckled.

Heero, for his part, looked flabbergasted and just kept squeezing in amazement.  "Epyon!"

Zechs abruptly joined Duo in a fit of giggles, doubled up over his knees snorting and gasping, tears streaming from his eyes.

"Where on earth did you guys find this thing?" Sally asked.  She poked at it and gave an appreciative "Ooo" to its cry of "Epyon!".

"At this little specialty shop in town," Quatre answered, seeing as his partner in crime was incapacitated with humor.  "They actually took a special order and made it for us, since we were gundam pilots."  He looked a little embarrassed to have gotten special treatment for that reason.

"I wonder if they could…hmmm…"  Sally began smiling evilly, already plotting something that Wufei would not appreciate in the least.

Relena just sat back and regarded the scene wide-eyed, her expression nearing terror.

"Epyon!"

Zechs howled with laughter, and next to him, Duo wasn't fairing much better.

"Where's _your_ training, now?" Noin prodded the blonde mercilessly.  "Where's OZ's best lieutenant the Lighting Baron now, hm?"

 Trowa looked around, stood up, and with improbable grace, flipped himself upside down and stood on his head.

"Epyon!"  Heero tore his eyes from the strange gift to stare at the silent pilot standing calmly on his head in the middle of the chaos.  "What are you doing?"

Green eyes stared back levelly, as if daring anyone to find something odd about being upside down for no apparent reason.  "I'm acting wild and crazy," Trowa answered reasonably, "Since everyone else is, I may as well, right?  Come on, Quatre, Relena, do something fun," he encouraged the blondes in near monotone.  Behind him, Zechs and Duo had regained enough composure to begin discussing hair care while Noin listened in and rolled her eyes.

Relena shook her head, braids flying, but Quatre looked slowly from Trowa to Relena, to Trowa, then finally settled back on Relena with a widening grin.  The ex-Queen of the World stared back, wanting to trust Quatre, but finding that she couldn't with him looking at her like that.  

"Something fun…" Quatre repeated, then glomped Relena, hugging on for dear life.  The startled girl acked and made a determined effort to pry the offending gundam pilot away.  "What _are_ you doing?  Let go of me this instant, Quatre Raberba Winner!  Heeeeeerroooo!"

Heero sighed, and stuffed all of his new belongings into a battered backpack he'd brought with, then stood up and walked away from his party and out of the park.

One of the last things he heard while leaving sounded suspiciously like, "Oh, come on, I can threaten to kill you too!"

~_Owari_~

EPILOGUE              Heh… Wufei-torture in the future!  ^_~ 


End file.
